48 Hours in Greenland 2019: Inuits, Icebergs and Insane Hikes

48 Hours in Greenland - Icebergs, Colorful Houses and Fjord Adventures

No, Greenland is not for sale, but it is open for business and well worth the trip!

A real dream for any traveler, Greenland is one of the most remote and mysterious countries on Earth. We got lucky enough to visit it in September and were absolutely stunned by this untouched country and its colorful capital Nuuk.
From the vast beauty of its beautiful landscapes to the joys of fishing your own dinner, through the discovery of ancient settlements and the cutest houses in the world, here’s our full guide to 48 Hours in Greenland.

48 Hours in Greenland | Day 1: Downtown Nuuk, Colorful Houses and Big Malene
With a direct Greenland Air flight to Nuuk from Copenhagen or Reykjavik, the Greenlandic capital is an absolute must-do when visiting Scandinavia and Northern Europe.

After our arrival in Nuuk and check-in in the Hotel Hans Egede, we headed off to discover downtown Nuuk and the beautiful colorful houses we saw so many pictures about.

Since Nuuk is small, we did all of downtown Nuuk on foot, from our hotel.

We started off visiting the Nuuk Cathedral, which is a tribute to the Christian influence on the nation, since the Inuits had different beliefs before Denmark settlements. The Cathedral is built in a similar Lutheran style compared to Icelandic churches - really worth the detour!

Right next to the Cathedral, we could visit the Nuuk National Museum and Cultural Center, which taught us a lot about Greenland, since in true Jeff and Anne fashion, we came without knowing much! Greenland has a long history of settlements, from the first Inuit settlers to the Danish in the last two centuries.

Dated to around 1475 AD, the oldest human remains found in Greenland are from Inuit mummies - we saw them in the museum, and warning, they’re quite chilling.

A little over the Museum you will find the famous Kolonihavn area, with its collection of wooden Inuit traditional houses, with an urban landscape filled with an amazing array of bright colors, from deep yellow to bright orange, from neon green to electric blue. What a view!

In the afternoon we attempted the summit of Big Malene, located in the most popular outdoor region of Nuuk, Quassussuaq.

The 2,493-foot-tall (761 m) Store Malene/Big Malene is a solid hike up to the peak, offering a great view of Nuuk, Akia (Nordlandet), Sermitsiaq and the Kangerluarsunnguaq Fjord with its spectacular glaciers.

All hiking trails are marked, the Big Malene being recognizable with its orange markings on the rocks alongside the trail.

You can take this hike with a guide, which we would recommend, however we attempted it on our own, being last minute as usual.

In dry weather, the ascent is pretty straightforward, albeit fairly difficult, but we attempted it with fog and rain and had to stop half way through due to too many slippery rocks. But we will be back, we said!

Since we couldn’t climb all the way up to Big Malene, we decided to go back and hike Lille Malene/Little Malene, around the same spot and offering impressive views of Nuuk, Akia, the surrounding regions and the spectacular sea.

Following this time the green markings on the rocks, we hiked around the lake for a couple hours, this time in dry weather!

Tip: The water in the streams is clean and drinkable! Bring a mug or bottle to scoop the water up with.

These two hikes are really the best outdoors trails to follow if you don’t have a car around Nuuk - accessible via bus number 1 from downtown Nuuk for 16 krones each (about $2.5), stopping in Qinngorput and heading from there. Our hotel had a hiking map of Nuuk which was also very helpful!

We took 2 boat tours during this trip, both with Nuuk Water Taxi in an open boat, with full life suits (did you see our video?).

The first tour was an amazing fishing and eat-your-own-fish boat tour, bringing us an hour boat ride away outside of Nuuk in Qooqqut Nuan to fish our dinner. We both caught fished in less than a minute in 65-meters deep water (brrr) and were brought to the unique restaurant on the island for them to cook it for us. Can’t beat it! The dinner was delicious, complete with soup, steamed and fried fish and rice, potatoes and vegetables.

Read the rest of our complete guide here: http://www.whatdoesntsuck.com/blog/48-hours-greenland

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